Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha

301 Pages·2009·12.86 MB·English

by  Andrei Orlov

Divine Manifestations in the
Slavonic Pseudepigrapha
Orientalia Judaica Christiana
2
Orientalia Judaica Christiana, the Christian Orient and its Jewish
Heritage, is dedicated, first of all, to the afterlife of the Jewish
Second Temple traditions within the traditions of the Christian
East. A second area of exploration is some priestly (non-Talmudic)
Jewish traditions that survived in the Christian environment
Divine Manifestations in the
Slavonic Pseudepigrapha
Andrei Orlov
govg'ms press
2009
For law and June Fair
... Then the old man stood up and stretched his hands to­
wards heaven. His fingers became like ten lamps of fire
and he said to him, "If you will, you can become all flame/5
Apophthegmata Patrum, Joseph of Panephysis, 7.
Abba Bessarion, at the point of death, said, "The monk
ought to be as the Cherubim and the Seraphim: all eye."
Apophthegmata Patrum, Bessarion, 11.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface xv
Locations of the Original Publications xvii
List of Abbreviations xix
INTRODUCTION. The Kavod and Shem Paradigms
and Divine Manifestations in the Slavonic Pseudepigrapha 1
Silvanus and Anthony. 3
Moses and Elijah 8
Enoch and Abraham 12
PART I: THE DIVINE BODY TRADITIONS 19
"Without Measure and Without Analogy":
The Tradition of the Divine Body in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 21
Introduction 21
Adamic Tradition of 2 Enoch 23
The Corporeality of the Protoplast 26
From the Four Corners of the World 29
The Measure of the Divine Body. 34
Bodily Ascent 37
Adam and Enoch: "Two Powers" in Heaven 38
Two Bodies Created According
to the Likeness of the Third One 43
The Pillar of the World: The Eschatological Role
of the Seventh Antediluvian Hero in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 49
Introduction 49
I. The Protological Disintegration: Aeon Adoil
as the Foundation of the World 50
EE
X DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS IN THE SLAVONIC PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
II. The Eschatological Reintegration: The Aeon of the Righteous 53
The motif of luminosity. 55
The Righteous as the Foundation 55
III. Enoch-Metatron as the Foundation of the World 57
Enoch's Righteousness 57
Enoch's luminosity. 60
Incorruptibility of Enoch 61
Enoch as the Revealer. 62
Enoch as the Sacerdotal Foundation 63
Enoch as the Redeemer 64
Conclusion 66
The Face as the Heavenly Counterpart of the Visionary
in the Slavonic ladder of Jacob 67
Introduction 67
The Slavonic Account of Jacob's Vision 69
The Face as God's Kavod. 70
The Face as Jacob's Heavenly Counterpart 75
Uriel-Sariel-Phanuel 82
Princes of the Face 85
Conclusion 88
"Many Lamps Are Lightened from the One":
Paradigms of the Transformational Vision in the Macarian Homilies....91
The Background: Transformational Vision of the Kavod. 93
In the Likeness of God's Image 97
Internalization of the Kavod. 103
Crystallization of the New Paradigm:
The Macarian Account of the Lord's Transfiguration 105
Conclusion 108
Moses' Heavenly Counterpart in the Book of Jubilees
and the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian Ill
Introduction Ill
I. The Background: The Heavenly Counterpart
of the Seer in the Jacob and the Enoch Traditions 113
The Jacob Traditions 113
The Enoch Traditions 114
Angels of the Presence 117
TABLE OF CONTENTS XI
II. The Heavenly Counterpart of Moses 119
The Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian 119
The Idiom of Standing and the Angel of the Presence 122
The Idiom of the Hand and the Heavenly Counterpart 125
Conclusion 126
Resurrection of Adam's Body:
The Redeeming Role of Enoch-Metatron in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 129
In the Mirror of the Divine Face: The Enochic Features
of the Exagoge of Ezekiel the Tragedian 135
Introduction 135
Oneiromantic Dreams 138
Heavenly Ascent 140
Angelus Interpres 140
Esoteric Knowledge 142
Heavenly Counterpart 144
Stars and Fallen Angels 147
Transformation of the Seer's Face 149
PART II: THE DIVINE NAME TRADTITONS 153
Praxis of the Voice: The Divine Name Traditions
in the Apocalypse of Abraham 155
Introduction 155
Biblical Background of the Shem Tradition 157
The Voice of the Mighty One:
The Aural Mysticism of the Apocalypse of Abraham 164
The Revelation of the Divine Sound 164
The Singer of the Eternal One 165
Praxis of the Voice 167
"No Other Power of Other Form" 170
The Idol of Jealousy. 172
Conclusion 173
Celestial Choir-Master: The Liturgical Role of Enoch-Metatron
in 2 Enoch and the Merkabah Tradition 177
Introduction 177
Priestly Role of the Seventh Antediluvian Patriarch
in Early Enochic Traditions 181
XII DIVINE MANIFESTATIONS IN THE SLAVONIC PSEUDEPIGRAPHA
Tabernacle of the Youth: Priestly and Liturgical Roles
of Enoch-Metatron in the Merkabah Tradition 188
Heavenly High Priest 188
Celestial Choirmaster. 192
The Beginnings: Liturgical Role of Enoch
in the Slavonic Apocalypse 194
The Servant of God's Face 197
Youth 199
Conclusion 201
The Pteromorphic Angelology of the Apocalypse of Abraham 203
Introduction 203
Yahoel, the Bird of Heaven 204
The Turtledove and the Pigeon: Pteromorphic Psychopomps 207
Fallen Angel Azazel, the Impure Bird 209
Invisible Angels 212
Conclusion 214
"The Gods of My Father Terah": Abraham the Iconoclast
and Polemics with the Divine Body Traditions
in the Apocalypse of Abraham 217
Introduction 217
Abraham the Iconoclast: The Background of the Imagery. 219
Bar-Eshath, the Son of Fire 221
Testing by the Fire 225
Mar-Umath, the One Who is "Heavier than Stone" 230
"A Likeness of the a Craftsman's Work" 232
Conclusion 234
The Watchers of Satanail:
The Fallen Angels Traditions in 2 (Slavonic) Enoch 237
Introduction 237
I. 2 Enoch 7: The Watchers in the Second Heaven 241
Traces of the Enochic Template 242
Traces of the Adamic Template 245
II. 2 Enoch 18: The Watchers in the Fifth Heaven 249
Traces of the Enochic Template 249
Traces of the Adamic Template 255
III. The Transitional Template and its Afterlife
in the Shfur Qomah and Hekhalot accounts 259